Daunted by Fabric Selection?
Are you perplexed when it comes to selecting fabrics for your quilts? Learn how to select a theme (such as "under the sea") and add interest and sophistication to your next quilt project by joining Alex's Classroom on Fabric Selection. 

Sharing simple, straightforward tips, Alex "walks" you through a fabric store, demonstrating how to collect pieces that will reinforce your theme and enhance--rather than overwhelm--your quilt. To view this and other teaching videos, click here.

Photo by Gregory Case

Chat with Valori
Spend an hour with the remarkable young artist, Valori Wells (Episode 405), who will be "Featured Guest" in our chat room on Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 5:00pm Pacific/8:00pm Eastern (01:00 March 20, 2009 GMT). Valori will share fun ways to be creative with fabrics already in your stash, as well as answer questions about juggling career and family. Join us in the chat room  here.  We'll be looking for you!

Tip of the Day:  Bias Tape Maker in a Pinch
Can't find your bias tape maker or not have the right size for your project?  Not to worry: Using a strip of fabric cut on the bias, two pins, and a hot iron, you can create bias tape in whatever width you need. 

1. Determine the width you need the for the finished bias tape. Multiply this measurement by 4. Cut a bias strip to this width and the desired length. (We wanted our finished strip to be 1/4" wide, so we cut our strips 1" wide x the desired length).

2. Fold the strip lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press. Do this for the length of the bias strip. Unfold the strip.

3. Fold the first 3" of the long cut edges on both sides of the strip to the foldline. Press lightly. Insert a pin into your pressing surface, allowing the tip to re-emerge.  Insert a second pin about 2" above the first. 

4. Insert the folded and pressed end of the bias strip under the pins so the folded edge is against the pins as shown in the photo above. Run the the pins over the strip and reinsert as close as possible to the opposite folded edge of the strip.

5. Carefully pull the strip so the cut edges continue to fold toward the center, pressing the strip as you go. Continue until you have folded and pressed the entire length of the fabric strip.  

Bernina Video:  Playing with Pipes
Piping can add tremendous visual impact to a pillow, a garment, or a quilt. This small accent can provide just the punch of color and texture--as well as the more finished look--your current project needs. Learn how to add piping by viewing Bernina's newest teaching video, in which Susan Beck and Nina McVeigh take you through the process of applying piping to both straight and curved edges. It's so easy! To watch this and other teaching videos, click here.

Quilt block from the collection of Susan Brooks featured at the Bedford Gallery, CA

Do you often feel that life doesn't allow you time to work on your quilting?  Why not set a "stint" for yourself each day? Keep it reasonable: Don't expect to complete 20 quilt blocks in a sitting if an hour is all you can spare. Perhaps three blocks a day would be a more realistic fit for your schedule. It's amazing how much you can get done when you break the task into manageable time commitments. Before you know it, you'll have finished up enough blocks to construct a quilt top. Don't procrastinate: Set yourself a "stint" for each day.

Bring Color to Your Space
Is your living space hopelessly lost in the past? Why not add a splash of color to your everyday surroundings?  Valori Wells offers stylish--and quick!--ideas in her easy-to-follow book, Simple Start Stunning Finish, which includes "The Red Tree" quilt seen in Episode 405. You'll have your living space looking more inviting and up-to- date in no time at all. To find this and other quilting books by Valori, visit the Shoppe here.